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Television manufacturers have been moving toward “smart TVs” that connect to the internet and provide access to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and the like. The selection of apps on these sets vary depending on licensing agreements made between the manufacturers and the O.T.T. services. (O.T.T. is short for “over the top,” a term applied to any streaming media provider to which a consumer can subscribe directly.) Also, not all of them will let you plug in and get a seamless, cable-like TV experience without any other hardware. The technology and interfaces are certain to improve in the years ahead, but for now, for the best results, you’re better off just investing in a set-top box.

Know what you want - and stick to it. Are you looking for the basic cable channels, like your local television networks? Or do you specifically want a certain channel, such as a regional sports network so you can keep up with your home team? Regardless of your goal in subscribing to cable television, you will need to stick to the plan in order to keep your bill where you want it. The customer service representative's job is to try to sell you the highest tier they possibly can, so you'll likely need to be firm when ordering.
Google Chromecast. The Chromecast device differs in that you plug the dongle into the HDMI port of your TV and "cast" the screen on your phone or tablet to your TV. This means that your phone acts as the remote for the Chromecast, which makes it a little more difficult to use that other dongles. Still, the overall idea of using internet television content and placing it on your television to watch on a large screen is at play.

Satellite providers like DISH and DIRECTV host service in all 50 states. The only clear differentiator between satellite and cable TV, is that satellite requires a dish on your roof. Unlike the slow speeds that come with satellite internet service, there are no restrictions on your television service. In fact, both DISH and DIRECTV offer a vast range of channels and exclusive sports packages like NFL Fantasy Zone and MLB Network Strike Zone.

Mediacom only offers its cable TV service paired with an internet plan, but that starting bundle comes at a fair rate. You can get high speed internet (60 Mbps or 100 Mbps) with the Local Plus TV plan. It comes with the basic networks like NBC, the CW, and ABC — but not much beyond that. You’ll have to upgrade to the Family TV plan for everything except premium channels.

Even so, no service we've reviewed is incomplete enough to discourage you from using it outright. If a service sounds like it might be a good fit for you, your best bet is to investigate which channels that service offers and see if it falls within your price range. Most of these services give you anywhere from a week to a month to evaluate them before charging you, and none of them require a contract. At worst, you'll be stuck with a service you don't like for a month.
Next, sign up for a service (or a couple). Hulu, for instance, will give you access to a wide variety of current television, and with both Netflix and Amazon Prime, you'll have plenty of movies and television that has already hit DVD. These three subscriptions will be slightly less than $30 a month. Or you might decide to go with a single television app (like CBS All-Access or the Smithsonian channel) and spend just $5/month. Maybe you want to try a premium service with one stand-alone app; whatever you want to do, go for it! You can sign up for these services once your dongle is installed; the screen will walk you through the steps but the process is pretty similar to downloading an app on your phone and using it.

Consumers are inundated with inaccurate information when it comes to cutting the cord. To be clear, cord cutting is not subscribing to a lot of different streaming services that would end up costing you nearly as much as the TV service that you already have. And cord cutting is not subscribing to a contractual TV service that happens to be delivered over the Internet instead of Cable or Satellite. Cord cutting means no contracts and paying only for what you want.

Some also concluded that the streaming service could be good for ratings after seeing the success of AMC’s Breaking Bad. The drama about a meth kingpin drew more than 10 million viewers in its final episode in 2013 after past seasons began appearing on Netflix. That compared with 1.4 million viewers for the first-season debut in 2008. Fans had caught up on the old seasons on Netflix, then tuned in to the current season on TV, they thought.

For Dennis Joyce, the decision to cut the cord came down to a surprising realization: he and his wife only watched three cable channels. For $160 a month, he received basic cable and internet from Spectrum. But when Spectrum announced that its new digital rollout would require extra equipment for Joyce’s three TVs and increase his costs, he’d had enough.

(It’s worth noting that Sarah’s not really a television addict, but that she likes to have the TV on in the background while she’s doing busywork, of which she has quite a bit from her job. You can often find her in the late evenings with about 70% attention on some low-intensity work task and about 30% attention on something on the television. Personally, I prefer to listen to white noise when working, but to each their own.)
This is a little hard to answer because I don’t know the make and model of your TV. That said, your antenna should be plugged in to your ATSC input, and you will need to scan for channels once the antenna is plugged in. Your QAM input is not for your antenna. It’s for a cable hookup. If you have a quality TV, I imagine the picture-in-picture should work with OTA channels unless your tuner has some kind of restriction.
Sony PS4 (starting at $299.99) / Microsoft XBox ($299 to $499): One of the biggest unexpected players in this space has been the major video game console companies. The Sony PS4 and Xbox One X are state-of-the-art in terms of their streaming capabilities, and they’re even creating their own services that attempt to serve the same functions as traditional cable TV. (More on that later.) The Xbox One S, Microsoft’s previous model, was still for sale as of August 2018, at $200 less than the One X. Click here to compare the two on the Xbox website.
These days, premium channels availability is one of the biggest perks of having a good cable TV subscription. Ever watched some of the blockbusters shows on HBO®, SHOWTIME® or CINEMAX®? If you have, then you know what we’re talking about! These ‘screen treats’ can keep you hooked to your television for hours on end. And that’s a pretty solid guarantee if you put much stock in them. But not all TV vendors provide premium channels in their plan catalogs. So before signing up, you need to know the right kinds of cable companies in your area. The ones that won’t let you down when you’re really craving that upcoming episode of Game of Thrones. Or whichever TV series that you’re currently infatuated with.

The Fire TV Cube adds voice controls to your TV, sound bar and even (ahem…) a cable box — if you’re into that sort of thing. Being able to turn on your TV, or even start a show on Hulu while you’re TV is still off really feels like a luxury coming from a more expensive television. I just reviewed the new Fire TV Cube and thought that Amazon did a really great job.

You will undoubtedly experience service outages and other issues with your internet service at some point. When this happens, you will need the issue to get resolved as soon as possible. Moreover, you will need friendly and expert technicians who are ready to help you whenever you run into trouble with your internet connection. So, get in touch with the current customers of your preferred internet provider, as it will help you to know about their customer service.
Sometimes called "TV Everywhere" apps, these are the apps for individual networks or cable channels that provide video-on-demand of their current shows (usually a day or two after they air). All of them have wildly different interfaces. Almost all of them require you to sign in using existing credentials for a cable or satellite TV subscription. And even then, almost all force you to watch commercials while viewing shows, with no way to skip them.
Streaming: If you have a smart TV, media streamer box or stick (Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, Apple TV, etc.), or smart Blu-ray Disc player, and subscribe to an internet service, you can access TV program and movie content without an antenna or cable/satellite service. Popular streaming services include Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Crackle, Vudu, and YouTube.